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3rd man arrested in case involving ex-NFL player

By DAVE COLLINS – The Associated Press

June 28, 2013

Mike Orazzi

Caption

Carlos Ortiz is shown during a hearing in court in Bristol, Conn., Friday, June 28, 2013. New Britain State's attorney says investigators arrested the 27-year-old Ortiz in Bristol on Wednesday in connection with the murder case against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez. A judge ordered Ortiz turned over to Massachusetts authorities during the hearing. (AP Photo/The Bristol Press, Mike Orazzi, Pool)

Ted Fitzgerald

Caption

Former New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez stands during a bail hearing in Fall River Superior Court Thursday, June 27, 2013 in Fall River, Mass. Hernandez, charged with murdering Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player, was denied bail. (AP Photo/Boston Herald, Ted Fitzgerald, Pool)

BRISTOL, Conn. – A man arrested in Connecticut in connection with the murder case against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was being sent to Massachusetts on Friday, and investigators said a third suspect was arrested in south Florida.

Massachusetts State Police said local officers in Miramar, Fla., captured Ernest Wallace early Friday afternoon, hours after a Connecticut judge ordered Carlos Ortiz turned over to Massachusetts authorities.

New Britain State's attorney said investigators arrested the 27-year-old Ortiz in Bristol on Wednesday as part of the inquiry into the slaying of Boston semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd.

Hernandez is charged with murder in the slaying of Lloyd near Hernandez's home in North Attleborough, Mass. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

Ortiz was charged in Connecticut as a fugitive from justice. His public defender, Alfonzo Sirica, declined to comment about the case.

Also Friday, Massachusetts authorities said officers had recovered a car linked to Wallace.

Authorities revealed Thursday night that they were seeking Wallace, who they said should be considered armed and dangerous, on a charge of acting as an accessory after Lloyd's murder.

Police arrested Hernandez on Wednesday at his Massachusetts mansion and charged the 23-year-old with orchestrating Lloyd's execution-style shooting, allegedly because the victim had talked to the wrong people at a nightclub.

A judge denied Hernandez' bail appeal Thursday in a Massachusetts courtroom, where a prosecutor said a Hummer belonging to Hernandez turned up an ammunition clip matching the caliber of casings found at the scene of Lloyd's killing.

Hernandez's lawyer argued his client is not a risk to flee and the case against him is circumstantial.

On June 16, the night before the slaying, a prosecutor said, Hernandez texted two unidentified friends and asked them to hurry to Massachusetts from Connecticut.

A few minutes later, he texted Lloyd to tell him he wanted to get together, the prosecutor said. Authorities say the three picked up Lloyd at around 2:30 a.m. June 17, drove him to an industrial park near Hernandez's home and shot him five times. They have not said who fired the shots.

Meanwhile, Lloyd's relatives were preparing for his funeral in Boston on Saturday. A relative said the service will be at Church of the Holy Spirit in the city's Mattapan section.

At Ortiz's court hearing in Bristol on Friday, there was no mention of any other allegations against him, no reference to Hernandez and no discussion of Lloyd's homicide. It remained unclear if Ortiz was one of the two friends whom authorities say were with Hernandez when Lloyd was shot to death.

A friend and a relative of Ortiz said outside the courthouse that they were surprised by his arrest. They said Ortiz is the devoted father of two girls and a boy, all under the age of 9. Ortiz was unemployed recently, but previously worked a long time at a Savers clothing store, they said.

They also said they couldn't believe Ortiz could be part of a murder.

"He's not that type of person. He has a good heart," said friend Milton Montesdeoca, 24, of Bristol, who added he didn't know Hernandez and never heard Ortiz talk about the football star.

The Patriots, who cut Hernandez following his arrest, drafted him in 2010 and signed him last summer to a five-year contract worth $40 million.